Fiona Cunningham shared the lifelong battle of her daughter Sarah Hughes with her illness that started when she was still an infant. Sarah lived normally when she was born but not until she turned 6 months old that they noticed lymph nodes on her legs while she was sitting up and crawling. Her temperatures at that time was at its peak and she started to get some rashes too. Fiona was advised by her sister to bring Sarah to Mayo Clinic which at 11-months old, Sarah was fully diagnosed to have Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

Sarah’s life was generally at risk due to her illness. Her systemic nature started attacking her digestive system and made it difficult for her to eat. At that time, she was on two doses of chemotherapy, steroids and taking 23 drugs literally just to keep her alive but her body wasn’t really responding to these treatments. Fortunately, Fiona was employed in the Arthritis Foundation to which she found out about Celltex and learned about stem cell treatments.

The decision to receive stem cell treatments, although not immediate, was an easier decision to make for Sarah. She had her first infusion on November 2014 of 600 million stem cells to which she received in Mexico. Prior to the stem cell infusion, Sarah was mostly at bed rest. However, 6 months after her stem cell treatment, she felt energetic and was able to eat food she had never eaten before.

Sarah’s life after stem cell treatment has changed a lot and seeing her now has given hope for people with no hope.

Find out more about this inspiring journey of Sarah and her mother, Fiona and how stem cell treatments paved way for things she had never done in a very long time.

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The Onwards Medical Breakthrough

Scientists discover an on/off switch for aging cells

“Scientists at the Salk Institute have discovered an on-and-off “switch” in cells that may hold the key to healthy aging. This switch points to a way to encourage healthy cells to keep dividing and generating, for example, new lung or liver tissue, even in old age.”

“In our bodies, newly divided cells constantly replenish lungs, skin, liver and other organs. However, most human cells cannot divide indefinitely–with each division, a cellular timekeeper at the ends of chromosomes shortens. When this timekeeper, called a telomere, becomes too short, cells can no longer divide, causing organs and tissues to degenerate, as often happens in old age. But there is a way around this countdown: some cells produce an enzyme called telomerase, which rebuilds telomeres and allows cells to divide indefinitely.”

Pablo Castillo is the Founder and CEO of Medbrick, a Montreal, Canada-based company which caters to Canadian patients wanting to receive healthcare specifically in Latin America. Canadians typically use their public system for their healthcare, however, in some cases, medical procedures are not covered by their system and these treatments are expensive if done in the private hospitals which could be very costly if paid out-of-pocket.

This led to the founding of Medbrick 5 years ago to help patients receive medical treatments abroad giving them a huge amount of savings but still receive great quality of service.

In this episode, Pablo also shared about the first Canadian Medical Tourism Tradeshow to be held in Canada this August gathering the medical and wellness providers all over the world which aims to educate Canadians and help them gain more awareness of the opportunity to receive medical care abroad.

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The Onwards Medical Breakthrough

Lung Cancer ‘Breathalyzers’ to Boost Early Detection

“There’s an old story that dogs can smell cancer. At first, it sounds like an urban legend. And while it isn’t untrue—there is evidence dogs can smell cancer—the research isn’t universally accepted, nor has it been shown clinically useful yet.”

“But what if we take the central proposition, that a dog’s nose can detect molecules associated with a disease, refine it, and instead of relying on a hunting dog point, build a machine to do the same thing? Scientists are already on it.”

“The efforts are part of a larger push for earlier diagnosis of debilitating and dangerous diseases, like cancer and Alzheimer’s. Often, by the time symptoms show up, the disease is at an advanced stage and much more difficult to treat.”

“It’s believed that in the earliest stages, when treatment may prove more effective, the body is still full of microscopic molecular clues. Called biomarkers, these molecules associated with diseases may provide enough proof for diagnosis.”

Ken and Carol Purves narrate their wonderful experience when they traveled down to Mexico to receive dental treatments. Their trip was facilitated by Dental Departures and were attended by Sani Dental Group in Los Algodones, which is basically just minutes away from the US border.

In this episode, Ken and Carol shared about the extensive dental procedures they had which is way cheaper than what they could have in Canada or in the US. They have also taken into account how the dental staff of Sani Dental Group displayed an excellent level of professionalism and dedication to their service.

Find out about this interesting story and how traveling to Mexico has brought back their confidence.

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The Onwards Medical Breakthrough

Artificial Spleen ‘Cleans’ Blood of Pathogens

“In one of the gutsiest performances in sports history, NFL quarterback Chris Simms had to be carted off the field after taking several vicious hits from the defense during a game in 2006. Remarkably, Simms returned to the game shortly thereafter and led his team on a scoring drive before having to leave the game for good.”

“As it turns out, Simms had ruptured his spleen and lost nearly five pints of blood.”

“While you can live without your spleen, it serves several important functions in the body including making antibodies and maintaining a reservoir of blood. It also works to keep the blood clean by removing old blood cells and antibody-coated pathogens.”

The rising costs of dental care preventing family members from obtaining the treatment they needed inspired Paul McTaggart to establish Dental Departures – an online company that hooks up global dental providers with patients.

Surprised his new wife had not been to a dentist in years because a chef’s salary couldn’t afford it was the motivation for McTaggart to explore inexpensive dental care on the internet. He found a lack of affordable dental care was not just a problem in the US, but in Europe, Australia and New Zealand too.

The results also pointed to savings of around 70% in countries including Mexico, Thailand and Hungary – but with scant authoritative information about the quality. With his wife and young family, McTaggart set about finding out, moving to Mexico and then Thailand. Coupled with his background in technology, Dental Departures was born.

McTaggart says one of his proudest moments was helping his dad get a new smile, “Changing people’s lives by providing affordable, quality dental care is one of the joys of what we do.”

Find out how Paul and his staff ensure an excellent overall experience for patients and helping them achieve a quality of life through their smiles.

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The Onwards Medical Breakthrough

Tuning light to kill deep cancer tumors

“An international group of scientists led by Gang Han, PhD, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, has combined a new type of nanoparticle with an FDA-approved photodynamic therapy to effectively kill deep-set cancer cells in vivo with minimal damage to surrounding tissue and fewer side effects than chemotherapy. This promising new treatment strategy could expand the current use of photodynamic therapies to access deep-set cancer tumors.”

Antony DeSousa is the Founder and CEO of Dental Destinations Cancun which is also an affiliate of Dentaris located in Cancun, Mexico. Cancun has been known as a beautiful destination for vacation and travel and is also known to offer not only quality medical treatments but dental treatments as well at a very affordable price. Because of their passion in providing quality dental treatment, Antony and his team of experienced dental experts have significantly changed the lives of their patients and have helped them gain their confidence back through their wonderful smiles.

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Servando Acuña is the President of Medical Tourism Association – Cancun. It was formed under ethical principles that basically helps create awareness to patients on the best available healthcare services in Mexico. They represent a group of healthcare institutions that aims to provide quality and certified care at an affordable cost.

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The Onwards Medical Breakthrough

Miracle Powder Regrows Fingers, Now Thigh Muscle for Marine

“It was only a year ago that ACell’s “miracle powder” was sprinkled on amputated fingers and shown to stimulate the regeneration of fingertips. The world was both awed and skeptical of the powder’s regenerative power, touting that it would revolutionize regenerative medicine or calling it was quack science.”

“A fingertip is one thing. A thigh, quite another.”

“After losing most of his thigh muscle in a battlefield explosion, one marine was given a second chance when another such miracle powder caused much of his thigh to grow back. It’s not only a wonderful feel-good story, but demonstrating that the same substance can grow back different tissues suggests that we may have only seen a small part of its full regenerative potential.”

Bill Mansell is the Director of Admissions at Sanoviv Medical Institute located at Rosarito Beach, Baja California, Mexico. It is a fully licensed hospital with cutting edge facilities and they are accredited by the Institute for Functional Medicine. They offer a holistic and integrative approach to help treat a certain disease and elevate one’s immune system to make sure that the disease will not come back.

In this episode, Bill shared a story of a mother who is a lung cancer patient from Canada who underwent a series of medical treatments locally. At a certain point during her treatment, the doctor told her to set her affairs in order and plan for her funeral because there was nothing more they could do to treat her. She sought help online and found Sanoviv where she was placed under the Intensive Cancer Program which shrank her tumor by 80% in a very short time.

Find out in detail what the multi-pronged and aggressive approach Sanoviv uses to help treat patients with cancer and other diseases .

This interview was recorded at the World Medical Tourism Congress in Washington D.C. where John was a featured speaker in September 2014.

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In This Episode, You’ll Learn

About how this patient underwent from a series of medical treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy

How at a certain point during her treatment, her doctor just told her that they cannot treat her and told her to plan for her funeral

How this patient sought help online and found Sanoviv Medical Institute

About the Intensive Cancer Program that the patient was placed in which shrank her tumor by 80%

About IPT or Insulin Potentiated Therapy

How they use IPT in conjunction with other medical procedures such as hyperthermia to treat their patients and help battle with cancer

The kinds of cancers that IPT focuses into

About the after care program they provide their guests

How Sanoviv continuously innovates and bring in new procedures as often as they can to help remedy other kinds of diseases

About their multi-pronged approach to treat the whole body, elevate the immune system, and build up the digestive system so that the cancer will not come back

About the cost of cancer treatment in their hospital and how it is comparatively 10-20% lower that of the other hospitals

The importance of a licensed facility. hospital accreditation, the opportunity to talk with a medical professional complete with credentials and the logistics well taken care of as part of Bill’s tips to patients who are considering to travel overseas to receive a medical treatment

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The Onwards Medical Breakthrough

New drug target can break down cancer’s barrier against treatment

“Cancer research UK scientists at Barts Cancer Institute have found that targeting a molecule in blood vessels can make cancer therapy significantly more effective, according to research published in Nature.”

“The team at Barts Cancer Institute, part of Queen Mary University of London, have found that a molecule, called focal adhesion kinase (FAK), signals the body to repair itself after chemotherapy or radiotherapy, which kill cancer cells by damaging DNA. When the researchers removed FAK from blood vessels that grew in melanoma or lungcancer models, both chemotherapy and radiation therapies were far more effective in killing the tumours.”

Dr. Ernesto Gutierrez is the President and Medical Director of World Stem Cells Clinic which is the stand-alone stem cell research center based in Cancun, Mexico where novel autologous stem cell therapeutic applications are being developed since 2010. They aim to provide advancements in the field of regenerative medicine, particularly stem cell therapy, to improve the patient’s quality and quantity of life. Dr. Gutierrez and his team are very much committed in moving a step further and improving their procedures and methods to address a wide variety of medical conditions. He is also passionate about training and developing medical professionals by allowing them to visit, learn and participate in World Stem Cells Clinic’s state-of-the-art laboratory and research facility.

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The Onwards Medical Breakthrough

New gene discovered that stops the spread of deadly cancer

“Scientists at the Salk Institute have identified a gene responsible for stopping the movement of cancer from the lungs to other parts of the body, indicating a new way to fight one of the world’s deadliest cancers.”

“By identifying the cause of this metastasis—which often happens quickly in lung cancerand results in a bleak survival rate—Salk scientists are able to explain why some tumors are more prone to spreading than others. The newly discovered pathway, detailed today in Molecular Cell, may also help researchers understand and treat the spread of melanoma and cervical cancers.”

“Lung cancer, even when it’s discovered early, is often able to metastasize almost immediately and take hold throughout the body,” says Reuben J. Shaw, Salk professor of molecular and cell biology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute early career scientist. “The reason behind why some tumors do that and others don’t has not been very well understood. Now, through this work, we are beginning to understand why some subsets of lung cancer are so invasive.”

Sheri Burke is the Founder of International Patient Facilitators Inc. Their company started in 2008 and they were the first company to bring medical tourism patients into Cancun. She was appointed CEO in 2009 and has since helped many patients receive medical care in Mexico.

IPF helps patients who are seeking Weight-loss surgery and In Vitro Fertilization procedures which are mainly done in Cancun and Tijuana, Mexico. Because of their work in these cities with the leading hospitals and surgery centers, they have located the most experienced bariatric medical team led by Dr. Sergio Verboonen who has dedicated 17 years of his career as bariatric surgeon.

Find out more how Sheri and her team assist their patients in arriving at the most educated decision in terms of quality of care and results in weight loss surgery and other procedures.

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The Onwards Medical Breakthrough

Major dopamine system helps restore consciousness after general anesthesia, study finds

“Researchers may be one step closer to better understanding how anesthesia works. A study in the August issue of Anesthesiology, the official medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), found stimulating a major dopamine-producing region in the brain, the ventral tegmental area (VTA), caused rats to wake from general anesthesia, suggesting that this region plays a key role in restoring consciousness after general anesthesia. Activating this region at the end of surgery could provide a novel approach to proactively induce consciousness from anesthesia in surgical patients, researchers say.”

“While generally safe, it is well known that patients should not be under general anesthesia longer than necessary,” said Ken Solt, M.D., lead author, Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine and assistant professor of anesthesia, Harvard Medical School, Boston. “Currently, there are no treatments to reverse the effects of general anesthesia. We must wait for the anesthetics to wear off. Having the ability to control the process of arousal from general anesthesia would be advantageous as it might speed recovery to normal cognition after surgery and enhance operating room (O.R.) efficiencies.”

Pat Marino is the Founder and CEO of Face Lift Mexico which is currently celebrating their 20th anniversary in the medical tourism industry. In this episode Pat shares their excellent surgical results and the 4-Star Spa called Spa Club Casa Marino where patients can spend their days recovering from their surgical procedure. Interestingly, in this episode, Pat shares a success story of a 71- year old woman who underwent a facelift, full dental work, tummy tuck and breast implants and now looks 20 years younger. Find out more in this episode how Pat and her team address their patients’ safety concerns and how their after care treatment works in their recovery spa.

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